Normal monsoon to boost farm production

NEW DELHI: The agricultural sector will maintain its growth rate of about 3.5 per cent and may even surpass it if the monsoons as predicted by the Met department are normal this year, Planning Commission Member Abhijit Sen said today.

India is expected to receive a normal monsoon for the third consecutive year and the June-September rainfall is expected to be 99 per cent of the long-term average.

"I'm glad that this has come out. A normal monsoon will not only help us in sustaining the farm growth rate of around 3.5 per cent but may also help in surpassing it," Sen told PTI.

Monsoon is crucial for the kharif (summer) crops such as rice, soyabean, cotton, maize, etc because almost 60 per cent of the farm land in the country is rain fed.

Sen said good monsoon rains would help the country in surpassing this year's foodgrain production levels.

India is estimated to have harvested a record 252.56 million tonnes of foodgrains in the 2011-12 crop year (July-June) as against 244.78 million tonnes in the previous year.

Echoing similar views, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director General S Ayyappan said: "We hope that the trend (growth in foodgrain production) continues. Good rains will certainly help in maintaining the growth rate".

Industry also heaved a sigh of relief on prospects of a normal monsoon.

According to Soyabean Processors Association of India, good rains will boost area under the important oilseed by at least 5 per cent.